Jewl's struggles as seen through Michael's eyes.

If I had to sum up Jewl in one word, that word would be courage. Seeing her day to day struggles and accomplishments is hard. I met Jewl on AOL's instant message. I knew all about her disabilities and her service dog before we met. This girl does not hide anything. She believes in total truth about everything. But knowing and dealing with them on a daily basis are two different things. It took me a while to get used to a few things. I was a bachelor before I met her, so going from that, to helping take care of her was different. She has multiple disabilities. Her EBV is a virus that makes her tired and weak all the time with flu-like Symptoms. It also makes her legs hurt quite often, so she has to walk with a cane, and now she is going to have to use a wheelchair. She also has epilepsy. Her seizures are complex particles, focal of the right arm and absence. They cause her to have a lot of memory problems, so I have to help her with her memory. The seizures also cause lapses of time, so she may ask something a few times or forget something I just said.

Now she also has to take medication on a daily basis. I help her by making sure to ask if she has taken them today. I had to go and buy her a watch with five alarms. I had to go out of town one week and she broke her finger during a seizure because she forg,ot to take her medication.

I also help her in and out of bed because of her legs. On the real bad days, I have to take over the housework. There are some days I feel like a parent, but that just makes me love her all the more. You get married for better and for worse. Well I knew about all this before I met her and excepted it as a part of her. Maybe one day you will meet her and understand what I see in her.

Now the other thing I had to get used to was Tagert, her wonderful seizure alert service dog and the fact that he goes everywhere with her. I think I have more trouble with the public than I do with Tagert. I never knew there were so many rude people out there who have no common sense. I mean, when we first went out, I could not believe the rude stares and comments. You would think the world had never seen a dog before. They just stared and pointed at her. The comments they make are just unbelievable. It was different at first, but I got used to bringing a dog and his diaper bag with us. You have to have water, a water bowl, bags for the bathroom, treats and a ball because you want to give him a break once in a while. We also bring the ADA laws and North Carolina State laws with us because going in to a business is hard work sometimes. You would think if you owned a business, you would be up on all the laws, and you would pass this information to you employees. Well that is not true. I get tired of it and he is not even my service dog. I get tired of it for Jewl because it is an emotional strain on her, always having to have her back up because she never knows when someone might yell. Now some people are nice, and we don't always get hassled, but you are just never sure. All in all, as I said, she goes through all of this with courage and a smile. It does get her down some days but not for long. That smile is right back.

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